Blake Belladonna did not like the summer. Maybe she was the only 20-something on the face of the planet that felt that way, but it was true.
Seriously, what was there to like? It was hot and people were expected to wade into pools and oceans to cut the heat, something Blake was never quite fond of, if she was being honest. Plus, her jet-black hair and usually dark attire soaked in the sun's rays, and it was nearly impossible to be outside for more than fifteen minutes without sunblock.
Besides, summer meant being home. Not that home was bad. But home was Menagerie, a tiny island off in the corner of the world that had become something of a vacation destination. Once the people of Remnant realized that the island – home to so many Faunus – was also home to so many wonderful beaches, they flocked there like the seagulls that badgered people for their fries and ice cream on sunny days.
Supposedly, the surplus of tourists was good for Menagerie's economy and overall business, but god did it get crowded. The island was already cramped due to the amount of Faunus that already resided there. Their ancestors pushed and secluded to the small speck of land out in the sea that no one thought twice about for years.
Yet now, year after year, summer after summer, day after day, people – humans – would come back to see the exotic isle that bustled with so much life that it just about spilled over. And Blake Belladonna would be there, in the crappiest "I-Scream-for-Ice-Cream" truck the company owned, selling frozen treats to all the beachgoers.
Blake sighed, turning the page of her book with one hand as she sat on the small chair in the back of the truck, boots propped up on the cooler. The one good thing about her shitty job was that it left a lot of downtime when everyone was too distracted by the water to notice the truck parked at the top of the dunes.
She was rereading her favorite series – Ninja's of Love – and the second book was by far her favorite. No more will-they-won't-they, just two people in love kicking ass and taking names. They'd been through so much in the first book, it was nice to finally see the characters happy and together.
…Plus, maybe there were some gratuitous love scenes that Blake appreciated on an… artistic level.
Ding!
Blake groaned under her breath, slipping her bookmark in to mark her page and tossing it on top of the cooler as she stood up and slipped her classic black sunglasses down from the top of her head. She blew her bangs out of her eyes as she wandered to the window of the truck, leaning against the counter.
"What can I get you?" Blake asked, somewhat disinterested, looking down at her nails.
"Hey, yeah I'll have a Firecracker and uh… I don't know, what's the sweetest thing you have?"
Blake rolled her eyes behind tinted glasses.
"I don't—" her witty retort was cut short as she looked up at her current customer.
She was actually gorgeous. Not that 'oh she'll catch your eye for a second' pretty, but actually jaw-droppingly, romance novel worthy, gorgeous.
Long blonde hair draped over her shoulders, wavy and damp from ocean water, yellow bikini top showing off ample cleavage and toned abs that led to black boy-shorts. Blake cleared her throat, standing up a little straighter.
"I'm your flavor?" Blake asked, mentally kicking herself. The woman raised an eyebrow, smirking as Blake tried to untie her tongue. "I mean ice cream. Flavor. For… sweet?" She actually wanted to die. Was it hotter than before?
Somehow taking pity on Blake, the woman simply shrugged, smirk still firmly in place. "It's actually for my sister, I'm just trying to lure her out of the water with ice cream, the more sugar the more likely she'll come ashore," she said with a chuckle.
Blake nodded once, pushing herself off the counter. "Right. Got it, hang tight." With that, she turned around and slid the cooler open, breathing a sigh of relief as the icy air hit her quickly heating face. She reached in, grabbed the items she needed and swiveled back to the counter, huffing as the outside heat hit her again like a wave.
"You look hot," the woman said, grabbing some cash out of her bikini top. Blake nearly dropped the ice cream on the ground.
"What?" she asked.
"You look hot," the woman repeated, matter of fact. "Don't they keep that thing air conditioned?"
Oh. Oh. "Oh," Blake said, out loud this time, "yeah, no. Apparently, as long as the ice cream doesn't melt, it doesn't matter if I do."
The blonde chuckled, extending her money out to Blake. "Unfortunate for you. Though you're not doing yourself any favors with all the black."
Blake cocked an eyebrow, taking the money and quickly making change. "Oh? Unfortunately, some of us have to work and can't prance around in bikini tops all day," she said, handing the blonde her change. She thought, for a moment, that maybe that was a little too snarky, even for their current back and forth, but her fears evaporated when she heard the woman let out a throaty chuckle. The ears on top of Blake's head twitching at the pleasant rumble.
The blonde dipped her aviators down the bridge of her nose, revealing lovely lilac eyes that quickly sized Blake up. She smirked, looking up at Blake's eyes after a moment. "Unfortunate indeed," she said, punctuating her sentence with a wink and slipping her sunglasses back in place.
Blake's mouth hung open, shocked by the blatant flirting. No one ever just came up and flirted with her like that before. Or at least no one that looked like she should be on the cover of a freaking swimsuit magazine, all toned, tanned, and flawless.
Blake shook her head. "Um, your… yeah," she said, pushing the frozen treats in the direction of the blonde, whose smirk only grew wider. Blake was so frustrated. She was cooler than this.
The stranger reached up, grabbing both and laughing when she saw what Blake gave her for her sister.
"Wow. Do you know my sister or something?" she asked, waving the Chipwich in the air. "Seriously, ice cream in between chocolate chip cookies? She'll die."
Blake leaned against the counter on her forearms, loosely lacing her fingers together in front of her. She raised an eyebrow. "At least it will get her out of the water? No crying to me though when she's got a sugar rush. My responsibilities end the second the ice cream passes through the window."
"Bummer," the blonde said, a smile still pulling at the corner of her mouth. "I was hoping I could come back and fluster you some more. It's adorable the way you try to seem indifferent. Sunglasses only hide so much…" she leaned forward, squinting up at Blake's name tag, "Blake," she finished with a smirk.
Blake, by some miracle, didn't melt with the way her name clicked off the stranger's tongue. Maybe it was the blonde's cockiness that emboldened her, maybe it was her own stubbornness, or maybe it was the fact she didn't quite like just how confident the human seemed when in came to flirting with her while she was trying to work.
"Maybe…" Blake drawled, leaning further down towards the stranger, "I really am just indifferent."
The blonde smirked, looking up at her. "That'd be more believable if you weren't leaning half-way out an ice cream truck, babe."
Blake held a moment longer, challenging the other woman from behind dark lenses. Finally, she cracked a smirk, leaning back into the truck. "Believe what you want. You're not exactly my type, anyway." Lie.
The stranger – to her credit – didn't miss a beat. "Only into boys, then?"
Wow. She certainly has an ego. "Try… only into Faunus."
She was a little surprised to see the blonde deflate. "O-oh… so, that's like… a thing here?"
Blake squinted, shaking her head. "Isn't it a thing… everywhere?"
The stranger shrugged. "I mean, I don't know. I've never really thought about it before. But hey, if it's just that…" her smirk came back, eyes burning with a challenge behind mirrored shades. "I mean, I'm always game for a challenge. Guess I just have to prove not all us humans are so bad."
Blake huffed a laugh through her nose. "Good luck."
"Y'know, the fact you want me to try bodes well. So, guess we'll just see how hard and fast you are on your 'no humans' rule," she said, grin stretching wider.
Blake rolled her eyes, pretending her cheeks didn't tint pink. "Whatever you say…" she trailed off, realizing she still hadn't caught the stranger's name.
The blonde laughed, easy and free as the ocean breeze that swept through her hair. "Says she's not into me, but cares enough to fish for a name, huh?"
Blake groaned. "You know what? Even if I was into humans, it would not be you. You do realize how cocky you are right?"
"I like to call it confidence," she said, waving a hand through the air, unaffected. "Also, it's Yang."
Yang… pretty. "Well, Yang," Blake said, ignoring the way her name sat so comfortably on her tongue, "you might want to get going before your ice cream melts. I don't give replacements for people that don't know how to manage ice cream on a hot day."
Yang smiled. "I notice that you say 'go,' but it's only because you're concerned about my purchase going to waste. Say you don't care all you want, Blake. But I see you."
"We've literally known each other for, like, two minutes," Blake droned.
"Yep," Yang said, popping the 'p.' "But sometimes, I think you just… know."
"Know what, exactly?" Blake asked, eyebrows raising.
Yang's gaze softened. It was hard to tell because of her mirrored aviators, but it was still noticeable in the way her eyebrows slanted up, the way the curve of her lips became more honest. "Just… nothing," she said, a shake of her head bringing her smirk back. "Guess you'll just have to see."
Blake rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
Yang hesitated for a moment before dipping her fingers back into her bikini top and pulling out some extra money. She reached up, slipping a decent tip into the jar on Blake's window counter. "Thanks," Yang said, starting to back away from the window.
Blake cocked an eyebrow. "You know, if this is your way of trying to hit on me, it pretty much counts as prostitution."
Yang laughed as she continued walking backwards slowly. "Only counts as prostitution if I get something out of it." Blake didn't have to see her eyes to know she threw a wink in with the statement. Yang stopped for a second. "Am I getting something out of it?" she asked, a glint of hope hiding behind a teasing smirk.
"Other than ice cream? Yeah," Blake said, nearly bursting out into laugher as Yang's jaw dropped. "Some advice," she continued quickly.
Yang's smirk came back, cheeks tinting a little. "Oh, yeah? What's that?"
"Try not to hit on girls when they're working. You tend to hold up the line."
Yang glanced over to see a few people waiting to the side, somewhat annoyed. "Well," she said, looking back at Blake, cocking her hips to one side, oozing confidence, "what time are you off, then?"
Blake shook her head, chuckling. "You can't be serious."
Yang shrugged. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, only one way to find out. What time are you off?" She asked again, smile charming and bright as the glare of sunlight off the ocean.
Blake bit her lip, weighing the options. On one hand Yang was stunningly beautiful, and flirting, and in some arrogant way… kind of sweet. And on the other hand, Yang was essentially a stranger, and a human stranger at that. Blake wasn't oblivious to human/ Faunus trysts going wrong in Menagerie. Humans out for a bit of fun… call it the "Faunus Experience" if you want to really get down to it. But Blake had a hard time believing the girl in front of her was that shallow. Call it what you will, naivete, instinct, but Blake felt it in her gut, in her bones, in her heart, in her soul.
"Would you please answer the girl? Some of us have families we need to get back to," the next customer said, crossing his arms and staring up at Blake.
"Although I hate to side with the arrogant ass that needs to find a better way to talk to people," Yang said, glaring pointedly at the man in line who had the decency to flush red and mutter a half-assed apology, "I do need to get back to my sister. So…"
She looked so hopeful, and Blake knew those stunning eyes were waiting behind mirrors, to be seen in the sunset. So, maybe that's why she heard herself mutter "Four o'clock," before she could even think about it.
Yang beamed and it struck Blake square in the chest. "Four o'clock," Yang repeated with one nod of her head. "See you then, Blake." And with that she pivoted, and started strutting off towards the ocean of beach towels and umbrellas set up along the shore. Blake watched as she went, a subtle but deliberate sway to her hips as she kicked up sand behind her.
After a moment her attention finally snapped back to the growing line, and specifically down to the man who had been next. He stood in front of the window, still looking rather embarrassed from being called out.
Blake sighed. Not worth it.
"What can I get you?"
"And you just… told her?" Sun was lounging on top of the cooler, eating a frozen chocolate covered banana and judging Blake so hard she was actually considering tossing him out of the truck. It wouldn't be the first time.
"Yes," Blake said, shrugging as she made change and handed it back to the girl on the other side of the window. "Is that a problem?"
Sun swiveled so he sat upright, legs dangling off the edge of the cooler as he spoke. "Um, I don't know, maybe? I mean, c'mon, Blake, you know nothing about this girl."
Blake collapsed back into her chair, crossing her arms and staring up at her friend. "I know her name. I know she has a sister." I know she's human. Blake didn't share that part. Sun didn't need to know, and it absolutely wouldn't help her case.
Sun smirked. "Oh yeah. You know everything about her. What's her last name?"
Blake rolled her eyes, grabbing her book off the top of the cooler and opening it to her marked page.
"Ignoring me doesn't make you right, Blake," Sun teased, biting off a piece of his snack.
Blake sighed audibly, peeking up at Sun from over the top of her sunglasses. "Um, double standard? What was the last name of the last person you hooked up with?"
Sun smiled, cheeky and mirthful. "Ooooh, so that's what it is, huh? Gotta say, Belladonna, you never struck me as the 'hooking up' kind of girl."
Blake ignored him, going back to the words on the page. "Don't think I didn't notice that deflection, Wukong."
"Don't think I didn't notice you ignore me again," he replied, polishing off the last of the banana and tossing the stick at the trashcan behind the truck's counter. He missed and the stick fell to the ground by Blake's boot. Sun stretched his arms up and legs out, tail unravelling and then relaxing with the rest of his muscles. He sighed. "Look," he said, soft, honest, "I'm just looking out for you. That's all."
Blake looked up at him, slightly annoyed. "I don't need you looking out for me, Sun. I'm perfectly capable of handling my own relationships. Whether they be platonic, romantic, or… undefined," Blake settled on.
Sun held up his hands in defense. "Hey, not saying you're not. Just saying, your track record is kind of…"
"Really?" Blake said, closing her book and leaning forward. "You're really going to throw that out there?"
Sun frowned. "I didn't mean it like…" he trailed off, Blake's glare hardening. "You know what? Never mind, you're right," he said, breaking eye contact.
Blake simply huffed and rolled her eyes, going back to her book.
It was silent for a moment before Sun spoke again, cautiously. "So, like… if you're seriously gonna hang with this chick…" He started, and Blake looked up, quirking an eyebrow at him. "…How hot we talking here?"
Blake groaned, ears pinning back in annoyance as she rolled her eyes. "Do you always have to be such a guy?"
"Hey! If you're gonna do the whole 'summer fling' thing, do it right," Sun said with a shrug. "Besides, I'm your best friend! Who better to get it off your chest with?"
After a moment of thought Blake sighed, dropping her book into her lap and gazing off to the side. "Fine," she said. She paused before continuing, "She's… goddess level, Sun." Blake shook her head. "I couldn't even believe she existed…" she chuckled lightly. "Hell, maybe she didn't. Maybe the heat's finally getting to me."
"Wow," Sun said, eyes wide. "What… what'd she look like?"
Blake smiled. "Tall. Legs for days. Really toned abs. Blonde hair, almost like gold... and her eyes. God, Sun, her eyes." Blake shook her head. "I've never seen eyes that color. Like… lilac, but not really. It's… they're… they're like right before the sun sets. That last strip of light you see on the horizon."
Sun grinned, but stayed silent. Blake quirked an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms.
"What?" She asked. But it wasn't really a question. It was a challenge. A dare.
Sun shook his head. "Nothing, nothing," he said. "I didn't say a word."
"I know," Blake said. "You didn't say a word very loudly."
"That," Sun said, pointing at Blake, "is not possible, and as a book and grammar nerd, you should know better." His grin widened as Blake glared. "Come on, after all that flowery language about a girl, you can't fall back on that."
Blake scoffed, rolled her eyes, and picked her book back up. "Get out of my truck, Sun."
Sun ignored her, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees as his legs swung slightly. "Hey, I'm just saying, the way you talk about her doesn't sound like the way I'd talk about someone I'm considering for a bit of fun."
"Sounds like a 'you' problem," Blake mumbled, staring at the words on the page. Sun frowned.
"Blake."
"Oh my god. What?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she dropped her book in her lap again. Seriously, Sun was a good friend, but sometimes he just didn't know when to stop talking. Blake looked at him for a moment and his expression made her waver. Sun looked serious. Sun never looked serious. Her glare softened with curiosity.
"Please, just… be careful," he said. He swallowed before continuing. "If it's just fun, that's fine. If it's… something else…" Sun said, scratching the back of his head, "that's fine too. I just… don't want you to end up stuck in something you don't want."
Blake frowned. "I'm… that's not…" She sighed, straightening her shoulders and slipping her sunglasses off as she looked up at her friend. "Look, I'm not a kid anymore. And she's not – Not everyone's like—" Blake shook her head. "Look. I promise. I'll be fine."
Sun met her gaze, and Blake could feel him searching for something. Whatever it was must not have been there, because he let out a sigh and shook his head, cracking a half-smile.
"Okay," he said. "If you're sure about it. Just, y'know, if you need me to tell her to back off or anything, I'm here!" He added, perking up and placing his fists to his hips like a superhero. The effect was only so-so as he didn't even bother to stand.
Blake chuckled. "Honestly, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves," she said, shaking her head. "I'll bet you all the money in my tip jar she doesn't even show up."
"Please," Sun said, lounging back against the wall of the truck, hands tucked behind his head, "as if anyone would stand you up," he said, gesturing to Blake. "I mean, she'd have to be an idiot. And I know you wouldn't be interested in an idiot, so…" Sun contemplated the bet for a moment with a thoughtful frown, before shaking his head, "nah, I'm not gonna take your money. Wouldn't be fair."
Blake laughed again, happy the air seemed lighter. The path they'd been on paved with shadows that she didn't need to remember. Not right now.
Blake slid her sunglasses back into place, giving up on her book altogether and marking the page before tossing it back onto the cooler. "Your confidence in my looks is somewhat troubling…"
Sun grinned, closing his eyes and shrugging. "Beauty knows beauty, Blake. Beauty knows beauty."
Blake rolled her eyes, catching sight of the stick from Sun's frozen banana at her feet. She picked it up and threw it at his head. Laughing at the look of shock on Sun's face when it hit successfully.
"Get the fuck out of my truck."
After Sun left to "catch some waves" Blake's shift dragged. There was still an hour until she could leave, and the sun was starting to get just low enough in the sky that nowhere in the truck was safe from its rays. It was too hot to read and the lone fan attached to the truck on the driver's side – that may have been her one savior – hadn't worked in the three summers that Blake had this job.
She groaned. Whether it was out of discomfort or boredom was up for debate, but Blake had a feeling it was a little of both. She slid down behind the counter, to at least try and get the sun off her face, throwing her hair into a sloppy ponytail to keep it off her neck. It was still early summer, there was no way it should be this hot, especially on the ocean front.
Ding!
"Nooooo," Blake groaned under her breath, before taking a deep breath and popping up from behind the counter. She sighed, turning to the window. "Hey, what can I –" Blake stopped short, her breath catching slightly. "Oh! Hi."
"Hi!" Yang said, smiling bright.
Blake cocked an eyebrow. "Um, you're early."
Yang scratched the back of her head with a bashful chuckle. Blake smiled. It was a good look on her. "Ah, yeah, I know. It's just… I mean, we were about to head out and I just thought—"
"Yang!" Blake looked up to see a younger woman come running towards them, red towel tied around her shoulders like a cape. She stopped next to Yang, putting a hand on her arm. "C'mon, we're gonna be late for—Oh! Hi!" She said, waving up at Blake with a cheery smile. Blake waved back awkwardly as the girl turned to Yang again. "Hey, is this the girl you were— oomph!" She was cut off as Yang's arm flung around her neck, and her hand clamped over her mouth.
"Jesus, Ruby, can it!" Anyone else probably wouldn't have heard it, but Blake's sensitive hearing picked it up. Yang chuckled awkwardly, looking back up at Blake. "Um, yeah, so, this is my sister, Ruby. Ruby, Blake."
Blake grinned down at them. They looked nothing alike but somehow it still made sense. "Hi," she offered the girl, still stuck in Yang's half-headlock. Ruby shoved her way out of it, the sisters having a silent conversation with their eyes after she broke free.
Blake blinked. Siblings were weird.
"Hi," Ruby said, still eying her sister for a moment before smiling up at Blake. "Nice to meet you! I'm Ruby! I mean… I guess Yang kinda already said that, but like… yeah…" She scratched the back of her head.
Blake chucked lightly. "Um, yeah. Nice to meet you."
"Anyway!" Blake sighed, thankful for Yang's interruption into that painful interaction. "I just came over to say I had to go… something kind of came up, but I didn't want you to think I was blowing you off or anything."
Blake tried not to look disappointed. Summer nights in Menagerie were dull at this point, and she'd kind of been looking forward to a change of pace; certainly not getting the chance at another peek of those eyes she knew were hiding behind reflections of herself. "Oh. Yeah, no. I get it."
Yang frowned, shaking her head. "God, this looks so bad. Look, I can be back in…" she looked at Ruby, shrugging and having another silent conversation with her.
"Five?" Ruby said, shrugging back.
"I can be back at five!" Yang said, turning back to Blake. "I know that's an hour after, but I mean…"
Blake was honestly a little surprised Yang had shown up at all. Especially an hour early, only to tell her something came up. Yang owed her absolutely nothing, they'd barely spent two minutes together and yet here she was, looking up at Blake so hopeful and honest and nothing like the complete flirt she was earlier. But Blake had to wonder if that also had something to do with the fact her younger sister was standing right next to her.
She was still wearing those stupid sunglasses and Blake wished they were gone.
"I think I could find a way to kill an hour," Blake said, and Yang's responding smile was so worth it. "But I gotta say, it's not looking good for the humans right now," Blake said, smirking and resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she leaned on the counter.
Yang laughed, even though her sister looked completely lost. "Don't worry, I'll more than make up for it," she said. Blake noticed that Yang had this way of winking with her voice, and it was equal parts annoying and attractive.
"Yang, gross!" Ruby said, punching her sister's arm. "I'm literally right here."
Yang laughed again, throwing her sister in a headlock and starting to walk away as Ruby flailed under her arm. She threw Blake a smile and waved with her other hand.
"Five o'clock! Don't leave me hanging!" Yang shouted back to her.
Blake shook her head with a smile. "Not sure I'm the one to worry about!"
"Oh, but I think you are…" It was said rather quietly, and Blake wasn't sure if she was even meant to hear it.
She watched as Yang and Ruby shrank from view, saw Ruby push out of Yang's grasp only to swing at her, which Yang easily dodged, sending her sister into the sand as she laughed. Ruby's distant figure popped back up, tackling a laughing Yang to the ground. They wrestled there for a moment before Yang broke free and started running— her laughter ringing in the distance as her sister scrambled off the ground to chase after her.
Blake shook her head with a smile.
Siblings. Weird.